BUZZ: ATR TEAMS WITH CDT, ACLU TO LAUNCH NEW ECPA ADVOCACY — As talk about email privacy rules ramps up again in Washington, digital due process proponents are looking at the 113th Congress as the best chance yet to notch a victory — and they’re forming another coalition to help put the hammer down. The new group, known as Digital 4th — as in the amendment — puts traditional tech advocates at the ACLU and Center for Democracy and Technology together with Grover Norquist’s anti-tax group, Americans for Tax Reform. And they’re calling the need for ECPA reform a constitutional no-brainer. “There’s going to be a full-court press on this issue over the next couple of years,” CDT’s Greg Nojeim told MT. “There’s a sense that the stars have aligned — and not just because there’s a substantive need for the legislation, but because a number of the parties involved are committing substantial time and resources to getting it done.”

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The groups’ stances on the issue aren’t new, but with what they see as a great opportunity to make headway on email privacy, they’re pledging a new level of activism. For one, the inclusion of Norquist’s group provides some political cover for more Republicans to get on board. And in addition to the activism from the groups themselves, Digital 4th has retained lobbying muscle from firms like Jochum Shore & Trossevin to whip lawmakers toward their goal: Requiring law enforcement to obtain a search warrant before asking for digital content or location data.

The long road to reform gets back underway Tuesday, when a House Judiciary Committee subpanel looks at “part 1” of ECPA reform. Your MT-er will be there, but as an appetizer, you can catch this op-ed today from Norquist and the ACLU’s Laura Murphy: http://politi.co/ZCr86j

THE CYBERSECURITY BLITZ IS BACK -- The whirlwind of hearings, meetings and panels on the nation's digital defenses last week continues into this week, where the emphasis likely is going to be on the threats emerging from China. Here's what we're following:

--U.S.-CHINA CYBER TALK CONTINUES: The meetings continue, just as the rhetoric heats up. Newly minted Treasury Secretary Jack Lew heads this week to China, where he'll hold a series of meetings that will touch in part on cybersecurity, intellectual property and trade secrets, a top administration official told reporters for a preview of Lew's trip. That visit comes after President Barack Obama pressed China's new president, Xi Jinping, on cybersecurity in their first phone call last week. For their part, new Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday dismissed recent hacking accusations as "groundless," though he pledged the country would work with Washington on the issue.

--MEANWHILE, THE HILL KEEPS AT IT: More hearings are on tap this week, as Congress continues the slow, tough trek toward a reform bill (or, well, bills.) The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a cyber oversight hearing on Tuesday, at 2:30 p.m., with an open session featuring the CEO of Mandiant and a closed session with government leaders. A day later, Rep. Patrick Meehan, the new leader of the House Homeland Security panel's cyber subcommittee, holds his first session on the issue at 2 p.m., focused on threats from China, Russia and Iran.

--ICYMI: ROGERS, RUPPERSBERGER ON CNN: The authors of CISPA joined CNN's "State of the Union" this weekend in part to discuss cybersecurity, and both lawmakers kept up the rhetoric on China and Iran. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), in fact, even said Iran in particular is "already at the shores of the United States with cyberattacks." Neither pol mentioned their bill by name — and CISPA, we expect, is headed for an April markup — but Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger did emphasize he's working with the White House, other lawmakers and privacy groups on further fixes.

GOOD MONDAY MORNING and welcome to Morning Tech, where our Irish heritage has us reminding you that there are only 364 more days until St. Patrick’s Day. We imagine your liver could use the break, but if you did anything fun this weekend that you’d like to relive right now, shoot us an email at abyers@politico.com and @ byersalex and tell us about it. Catch the rest of the crew’s contact info below today’s Speed Read and don’t forget to follow Pro on Twitter @ POLITICOPro.

GRASSLEY IMMIGRATION BILL COULD COME TODAY -- This could shape up to be an indicative week for high-skilled immigration, as Sen. Chuck Grassley may today unveil an H-1B visa reform bill similar to the one he drafted with Sen. Dick Durbin in 2009. Don't expect the Illinois Democrat's name on the legislation, though, as he's working with the so-called Gang of Eight, who are also toying with the issue. The group is inching toward a set of guiding principles likely to include H-1B reforms . Where's the House on all of this? To some extent, staying mum. Rep. Zoe Lofgren said she won't talk about H-1B visas until her immigration talks are done. As to when that will be, she said, "Later."

CTIA COMFORTABLE WITH LEAHY, GOODLATTE CELL UNLOCKING BILLS -- The major wireless industry group says it isn’t going to push back much on the legislation from top Judiciary lawmakers in both houses that would legalize cellphone unlocking. “I think there are some improvements that could be made to the bill, but we will be happy to work constructively with Chairman [Patrick] Leahy and his team and Chairman [Bob] Goodlatte and his team to try to help them move forward in a way that is sensible and minimally disruptive to the wireless industry and the consumer experience with the industry,” CTIA Vice President for Government Affairs Jot Carpenter told MT.

When the White House first came out in favor of restoring consumers’ right to unlock their phones, the group pointed out that the Copyright Office had decided an exemption wasn’t necessary because many carriers have liberal policies on unlocking. But if that hinted to Washington that the group would be opposed to legislation putting the exemption back in place, CTIA is now making it clear they’re fine with that — at least, in the form of the Leahy-Goodlatte measures. Indeed, even the comments it filed to the Library of Congress last year opposing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act exemption were aimed not at average consumers, Carpenter said, but at preventing the association of stolen phones with new networks and bulk unlocking by certain parties.

--WE SHOULD MENTION: The Competitive Carriers Association, which represents regional and nationwide wireless providers, has long been telling the Library of Congress they “got it wrong” in revoking the exemption and announced support for Goodlatte’s action on Wednesday.

--GOODLATTE: DMCA MEANT TO GIVE COMPANIES A CHOICE: The House Judiciary chairman sent a video message Friday to attendees at a California conference on the 15-year anniversary of the DMCA, and while it gave us a chance to hear more from the Virginia lawmaker on the controversial statute, his comments don’t seem to have played well with the anti-DMCA crowd in Santa Clara. We weren’t out west, but based on the hashtag we were following, Goodlatte’s defense of Title I of the act — which protects against circumvention of copy-protection systems — fell flat. “Business that were looking to go online made a reasonable argument that they needed the protection of digital locks to protect their goods, just like local retailers needed analog locks to protect their goods,” he said of the law, adding, “Title I of the DMCA simply gives companies a choice just as consumers have a choice of how to spend their money. If you think a product is overprotected by technological protection measures, don’t buy it. Companies will figure it out eventually.” That message was greeted by a not-so-happy tweet from the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Mitch Stoltz, who pointed out that the locks are getting placed on digital content that’s bought and paid for by consumers.

Of course, if you want more DMCA debate and a broader look at the U.S. copyright system, we’d recommend paying attention to the House hearing this Wednesday, which will look at a recent recommendation from the Register of Copyrights that Congress consider a comprehensive review of the rules. That kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

SJC TURNING TO DRONE PRIVACY THIS WEEK — D.C.’s heard plenty about drones in the wake of Sen. Rand Paul’s lengthy filibuster earlier this month, but it’s going to get another — and slightly different — dose this Wednesday in Dirksen. Chairman Patrick Leahy is convening lawmakers for a hearing on the privacy implications of domestic drone use by law enforcement — an issue that Reps. Lofgren, Ed Markey and Ted Poe have introduced legislation on. The Electronic Privacy Information Center been active on the subject, and Amie Stepanovich will testify on the group’s behalf. Benjamin Miller from the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona, Michael Toscano of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and Ryan Calo, law professor at the University of Washington, will also weigh in Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. NYT helps raise the curtain: http://nyti.ms/16DkOAC

HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO CONSIDER ISSA’S IT BILLS — The panel is expected to consider a pair of federal IT bills from Chairman Darrell Issa at a markup this Wednesday, MT is told. One measure likely on the docket is FITARA, the chairman’s bill to reform the government’s IT acquisition process. The committee, in fact, just released a new draft of that bill, which has been in the works for a while. You can take a look at a summary of the changes here: http://1.usa.gov/15UMe3G. The Federal Information Security Amendments Act, a separate FISMA reform bill that Issa and others reintroduced Thursday, is also said to be up for consideration. That legislation would improve the government’s IT security and focus agencies on new cybersecurity strategies.

OBAMA HEADING TO BAY AREA IN APRIL -- The president is scheduled to attend two events in Silicon Valley on April 4, according to an email sent out from a Democratic fundraising group. The purpose of the event is to "help retire the debt of the Democratic National Committee that remains from our victory in November." Tickets to a brunch for 30 people will go for $32,400 per person, and a later event will cost $1,000 for general admission. More, from The San Francisco Chronicle: http://bit.ly/15UKWWu

THIS WEEK: SVLG COMES TO TOWN — The group of tech CEOs from the Golden State will lobby D.C. on immigration reform this week, meeting with top lawmakers like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. TODAY: CEA President Gary Shapiro will address members of the Detroit Economic Club today at 12:30 p.m. on tech policy issues. Watch here: http://bit.ly/ZCpTnH

Authors:

About The Author

Alex Byers is a technology reporter for POLITICO Pro. He was previously a senior Web producer at POLITICO, where he helped run POLITICO's Twitter and Facebook accounts. Before joining the Web team, he graduated from The George Washington University, where he served as the 2009-10 editor-in-chief of The GW Hatchet, the school's award-winning student newspaper.

Previously, he has interned at washingtonpost.com, Dateline NBC and General Mills Inc. He hails from Minneapolis and is an avid Twins fan, musician and golfer.